TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance says it has no intention of selling the business after the US passed a law requiring it to sell the hugely popular video app or be banned in America, UNN reports citing the BBC.
Details
"ByteDance has no plans to sell TikTok," the company wrote on its official account on Toutiao, the social network it owns.
TikTok did not immediately respond to the BBC's request for comment.
Earlier this week, TikTok said it would challenge the "unconstitutional" law in court.
Гендиректор TikTok розраховує перемогти обмеження США: "Ми нікуди не підемо"24.04.24, 18:42
ByteDance's statement was made in response to an article on the tech industry website The Information, which said that Bytedance was exploring the potential sale of TikTok in the United States without the algorithm that supports it.
"Foreign media reports about the sale of ByteDance to TikTok are untrue," the company said in a statement that included a screenshot of an article with Chinese characters printed on it, meaning "false rumors.
The Sell or Ban Act was signed into law by U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday.
Addendum
Beijing's increased control over private companies has raised concerns in the United States and other Western countries about the degree of control the Chinese Communist Party has over ByteDance and the data it stores.
TikTok has repeatedly denied claims that the Chinese government controls ByteDance.
"We are confident and will continue to fight for your rights in the courts," said TikTok CEO Shu Ji Chu in a video posted on the platform this week.
"The facts and the Constitution are on our side... be sure, we are not going anywhere," he said.
According to TikTok, the Chinese founder of ByteDance has a 20% stake through a controlling interest in the company.
About 60% is owned by institutional investors, including major US investment companies Carlyle Group, General Atlantic and Susquehanna International Group.
The remaining 20% is owned by ByteDance employees around the world, and three of the five members of the ByteDance board of directors are Americans.
The Chinese government has also dismissed such fears as paranoia and warned that the TikTok ban "will inevitably come back to bite the United States.
However, TikTok is not facing an immediate ban in the United States.
The new law gives ByteDance nine months to sell the business and an additional three-month grace period before a potential ban can be enforced.
This means that the deadline for the sale is likely to come sometime in 2025, after the winner of the 2024 presidential election takes office.